Case Number 00462

GEN-X COPS

The Charge

Only time enough to die.

Opening Statement

The attention-deficit speed of pop culture has left the moniker
"Generation X" along the cultural wayside with lingo like
"def" and "radical." If Gen-X Cops had been made in
the United States, the title probably would have been rendered "Xtreme
Cops," because the movie's attitude reflects that of the
skateboard-wielding, Limp Bizkit-listening youths of today. Yet more evidence
that MTV is some sort of Orwellian social programming device.

The filmmaking of Japan and Hong Kong -- in particular, their martial arts
movies -- grew out of putting their own cultural spin on the rock-em sock-em
action movies of Hollywood. Largely due to the work of Akira Kurosawa, Bruce
Lee, and Jackie Chan, an appreciation of their brand of action film has come to
the United States. (I don't want to discount anyone, but in my opinion the
popularity of martial arts movies in the United are due to that triumvirate.
Personally, I'm also very partial to Jet Li and John Woo.) Gen-X Cops is
a synthesis of the best of what the East and the West has to offer -- from our
side of the Pacific, big-budget special effects, explosions, car chases, and
gunfights; from the other side, well-choreographed martial arts and authentic
stunts.

The Evidence

Gen-X Cops wastes little time before dropping the audience headlong
into the story. Arms smuggler Dinosaur (Lam Ka Tung) is in a squeeze. The police
want him for his involvement in smuggling a fuel used to make high explosives,
recently seized by the government. Japanese yakuza kingpin Akatora wants him
because he thinks Dinosaur took his merchandise. And, his brother Daniel (Daniel
Wu, who incidentally graduated from a school I attended, the University of
Oregon) hates him more than Dinosaur hates him. All this angst culminates in a
daring (and spectacular) nighttime attack on Dinosaur's limousine, at the end of
which Daniel caps his brother.

The police bring Daniel in for questioning, but are unable to pin anything
on him. Besides, they think him to be a rather insignificant player in their
attempt to bring down Akatora. So, the duty of tailing Daniel is given to
Inspector Chan (Eric Tsang, who has extensive credits not just as an actor, but
as a screenwriter and director), who has a history of mental problems (but to
set a good example to the people, the police department does not fire him).
Because of the circles the young Daniel runs in, Chan determines that the best
way to research the case is to recruit police cadets. However, the cadets look
too much like cops for Chan's liking, until he runs into three cadets who are in
the process of being expelled: Jack (Nicholas Tse), Match (Stephen Fung), and
Alien (Sam Lee, who with his Oriental features and pointy chin looks uncannily
like an escapee from Area 51). The boys are the embodiment of the devil-may-care
"Generation X" spirit. Their decisions to enter the police were
motivated by little more than personal gain (as explained in a deleted scene,
but more on those later). The trio is later joined by "Y2K" (Grace Ip
-- she's buggy), the sister of a slain undercover cop.

While working undercover to gather evidence against Daniel, the trio is
captured by Daniel and his goons. To prevent blowing their cover, they agree to
do some of Daniel's dirty work, namely killing Akatora. However, that mission
proves to be a failure, thanks to the megamaniacal work of a rival police
inspector. The Gen-X cops go into hiding with Daniel, and further plan how to
bring down Akatora and Daniel while saving their own lives.

The movie is packed with amazing stunts...not quite the same as some
performed by Jackie Chan in many of his films, but spectacular nonetheless.
There are two skydiving scenes: one a fairly typical aerial formation, the other
a daring escape from a high-rise in the middle of Hong Kong. The skydiving
scenes were among the few scenes in which doubles performed the action. Other
shots include an escape from an exploding factory, a boat blowing up in midair,
and a burning swimming pool. Oh, and of course the inhuman leaps while still
gunning down the enemies that you'll recognize from any John Woo movie. Gen-X
Cops is not exclusively a martial arts movie, though there are some
excellent fight scenes.

American producers looking to import Hong Kong action flicks, take note:
Gen-X Cops is the best example of how to bring these movies to the
American market. Fans couldn't care less for the Top-40 rap and hip-hop
soundtracks you like to pump into these movies. We don't want English dubs at
the expense of the original language tracks. We want the movies uncut and
unedited, in their original glory. That's what you get here. The movie is
presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic. Often, Hong Kong films look grainier and more
washed out than their Hollywood counterparts. Not here. Its crispness and
clarity almost belies its origins. The picture has a bare minimum of grain.
Blacks are not washed out and flesh tones are natural, but the picture can be
oversaturated at times (though I think that is a stylistic choice). No
pixelization is evident, and there is a minimal amount of edge enhancement. Four
audio tracks are included: Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo tracks in both in the
original Cantonese and an English dub. The 5.1 track is active, making extensive
use of the surrounds and LFE. My only complaint is that the bullet sound effects
sound fake. Considering that I've been around guns a total of maybe two hours in
my twenty-five year life, I'm using movies as my yardstick. Compared to other
movie gunshots, they sound like firecrackers. The English dub sounds, well, like
a dub. Even if I can't understand a word of Cantonese, it's still preferable
over bad ADR. Subtitles are provided in English and French.

The disc is packed with extras. For starters, there's a 38-minute
making-of documentary. It's presented in Cantonese with burned-in subtitles. It
is filled with interviews with the production staff and cast and
behind-the-scenes footage of the actors risking life and limb, and it is quite
entertaining. Two theatrical trailers are included, one for Gen-X Cops
and one for Jackie Chan's Who Am I. The Gen-X Cops trailer is
highly kinetic. It's the kind of trailer that is enough to sell audiences on a
movie...it makes me wonder why Columbia chose not to release the movie
theatrically in the United States rather than sending it directly to video,
considering the popularity of The Matrix and Romeo Must Die. Last
but certainly not least, there is close to an hour of deleted scenes. The scenes
are almost exclusively character development pieces, and would seem a bit
cerebral in the middle of an action movie. Still, if you like the story and the
characters (and I can't see why you wouldn't), they are well worth watching for
their insights.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

My hat is definitely off to Columbia for their DVD presentation of Gen-X
Cops, but I take umbrage to the way they've marketed it. Their entire
marketing campaign has hinged on one little fact: one of the executive producers
was a guy named Jackie Chan. Yes, that Jackie Chan. The funny thing is,
it feels nothing like a Jackie Chan movie. It's far more realistic and brutal,
containing none of the Buster Keaton-inspired physical comedy of Chan's films.
In typical Hollywood fashion, it misrepresents the movie in a way that might
prove to be a detriment.

I feel the need to confess that my plot synopsis may be a little off. It can
be a little hard to keep track of characters, particularly those who are not the
main characters, in a story that is told in a foreign tongue. I left out quite a
bit, but I hope it only whet your appetite for the rest of the film.

Closing Statement

Since Gen-X Cops was not released theatrically in the United States,
it's not a movie that most buyers are going to recognize while perusing the DVD
racks. Its press is only now being generated by reviews such as this one.
Reviews of Gen-X Cops at other DVD sites have been rather negative, which
is unfortunate. I was wholly and completely entertained by the movie, and the
DVD presentation far exceeded my expectations. If you enjoy martial arts movies
or even just straight action, I would heartily recommend it -- it kicks ass.

I would further recommend that you watch the movie with the Cantonese track.
The characters slip back and forth between Cantonese and English. At times, the
dialogue hinges on which language they were speaking in. It doesn't make any
sense when someone yells, "Stop speaking f***ing English!" when
everything is spoken in English.

The Verdict

You know that horned hand gesture that metalheads like to give? Gen-X
Cops gets two of them, way up. All charges are dropped.